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Sunday, January 13, 2013

maple almond granola

This is the best granola I've ever made.
I am the kind of girl who never makes the same recipe twice, I am always on the quixotic search for the best recipe out there (see recipe showdown). However, this is my new "go-to" granola recipe (and this girl doesn't do "go-to" recipes!).

So I was telling you all about how I have justified that making granola as vital to my success in school. I made my honey bunches of oats granola, a few days ago which was very crumbly, aromatic, and perfect for sprinkling on yogurt. But after drilling through 300+ Chinese flashcards, I was craving something with body. I needed some real, chunky, clumpy granola. So another batch was definitely necessary. I tried a few granola recipes that I had lying around the kitchen, but they all turned out crispy and very un-clumpy... :'( I was about to give up and actually do some studying...

Then I found the one.

This perfectly sweet, and super chunky recipestole my heart at first bite. The addition of almond flour, egg whites, and coconut oil, combined with a low oven temperature and slow baking time makes for the most magical, clumpy granola I have ever tasted.

I remember in middle school my mom and I would stand at the kitchen counter and eat granola standing up. We figured out that if you shake the container, the chunks magically rise to the top. We felt like Newton when he discovered gravity (but lets not talk about Physics class now...). Everytime one of us would say "chunk" we would shake the box and the chunks would rise to the top. This was mother daughter bonding at its finest.

I am drooling as I type, thinking about this amazing granola... to bad it's already all gone. Othello can wait... I think I need to preheat the oven. ;)
Do you like clumpy granola?
With love,
Erica

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (feel free to just use another 1/2 cup oats)

1/2 cup almond flour (*I make my own)

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup roasted almonds, chopped

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon ginger

Preheat oven to 300F. Line 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
Place the oats, quinoa, almond flour, whole wheat flour,
slivered almonds, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt in a stand mixer. Pour melted coconut oil evenly over the mixture and mix (you could also do this in a large bowl with a wooden spoon). Set aside.
Combine maple syrup and dark brown sugar in a medium pot over medium
heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add vanilla
extract. Pour this mixture over oat mixture and mix until
everything begins to come together. Lightly beat the egg whites until foamy, and stir into granola.
Press firmly into prepared baking pan, flattening the top so it is perfectly
even.
Bake for 40 minutes, rotating the pan every 10 minutes. Remove from
heat and let sit for a couple minutes. Cut into squares and break up
into smaller (but not too small!) cluster pieces.
Throw the clusters back into the baking pan and bake the clusters for 10
more minutes at 300F.
Remove from oven and let the clusters cool completely,

Homemade Almond Flour

Pour 1/2 cup almonds into a food processor or blender. Pulse just a few
times until they are finely ground.

Once the nuts are ground, pass them through a sifter. Any larger pieces that didn’t make it through can be ground up again.

OMG. This looks amazing! Must give it a go, though I might aim at a slightly healthier version by cutting back the amount of brown sugar. How foamy must the egg whites become? Just a little bit cloud-looking or harder? Do you use the sort of uncooked quinoa you would normally eat cooked or some kind of quinoa flakes etc.? I wasn't aware that one can eat quinoa uncooked. Didn't it upset your tummy?

P.S. Love the story about eating granola chunks straight from the container by the kitchen counter. I used to do it too. Oh who am I kidding - I still do it... Large chunks of granola, oh yummy!!

Thank you so much! I would love to see how your healthier version turns out, because I always try and cut back on unnecessary sugar! Just barely foamy, like the consistency of loose shaving cream. I used uncooked quinoa, and it didn't upset my stomach, but if you have concerns, just use regular old fashioned oats! Thank you so much, I still eat granola chunks at the counter too!

Hi Erica, I was just looking for a granola recipe and found this one bookmarked. I'm exactly like you, I never ever make a recipe twice, except of my favorite brownies. At the moment this granola is in my oven, I can't wait to see how it turns out, maybe it will be my go-to, too :)